Friday, December 14, 2012

Anybody have any idea what this cartoon is from, and who did it? (don't click through to see the original yet)

No? How about this one?

This?

Or these?

They were originally grouped like this:

Scroll down for the answer:

Give up? It's a shopping bag from Tyson's Corner mall from 1994.

According to Kirstin Downey Grimsley in the Washington Post (November 1, 1994), "This year Tysons Corner Center is unveiling something specially designed for the mall. Mall spokesmen are calling it 'A Capital Christmas,' and it will offer a whimsical greeting tied to the region's role as nation's capital."Apparently that included a shopping bag with "cartoon illustrations of President Bill Clinton portraying Santa Claus." The cartoons (in this order) are by local creators Richard Thompson, Kevin Rechin, Nick Galifianakis, Joe Azar, Ron Coddington, Peter Steiner, Sam Ward, Mike Lane and John Kascht - some of whom have since moved out of the area.

Thanks to Richard Thompson for the gift of the bag and to he and Nick for identifying some of the cartoonists. Easier-to-read greyscale illustrations can be seen here.

ComicsDC is a blog for information and events relating to cartoons, cartoonists and comics including comic books, webcomics, comic strips, political cartoons, animation and caricature in Washington, DC and its environs (roughly Baltimore, MD down to Richmond, VA). Press releases including store events are welcomed. Established 2006.

Matt Dembicki, feature writer

About Matt Dembicki

Matt Dembicki is a cartoonist workin' and livin' in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia area). He previously edited and contributed to the Eisner-nominated and Aesop Prize-winning 'Trickster' and the Harvey-nominated District Comics, which the Washington Post included in its top books of 2012. Matt's other comics projects include the nature-based graphic novels Xoc: The Journey of a Great White (Oni Press) and Mr. Big: A Tale of Pond Life (Sky Pony Press). Matt is a co-founder of the D.C. Conspiracy, a local comic creators collective that publishes the semi-annual free comics newspaper Magic Bullet.